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30 DOOR KEY (FERDYDURKE)

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Jerzy Skolimowski returned to Poland to film this surreal comedy based on a cult novel by Witold Gombrowicz. Set during the onset of World War II, a young writer (Iain Glen) is challenged by a former professor (Jerzy Binczycki) to become a man or return to a nightmarish adolescence. The latter makes for a much more interesting descent into the absurd. Nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice. With Crispin Glover and Robert Stephens. In English.

Jerzy Skolimowski---Poland/France---1991---90 mins.
50 YEARS POLISH FILM SCHOOL 1
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After World War II, Poland's socialist government centralized filmmaking in      the Lodz Film School. By 1956, the first wave of Polish School filmmakers set    out to make films that would put Poland on the world's screen. Five such         examples are included here. Kanal and Ashes and Diamonds are both  part of a trilogy from the one and only Andrzej Wajda. Kanal (1957, 96   mins.) is an almost hallucinatory portrait of a group of Polish citizens and   patriots who attempt to flee the Nazis through the sewer system of a             war-devastated Warsaw. Ashes and Diamonds (1958, 105 mins.) illustrates  the conflict of idealism and instinct in this story of a young resistance      fighter who assassinates the wrong man at the close of WWII. Also from Wajda,  Lotna (1959, 89 mins.) is a tribute to the heroic horsemen who faced   off against Nazi tanks. It follows the trajectory of an off-white horse which      passes among various military officials until it breaks a leg and is shot.     Next is writer-director Tadeusz Konwicki's The Last Day of Summer (1958, 66 mins.), featuring Jan Machulski and Irena Laskowska as a young man and   a    mature woman who steals his heart. Lastly, Janusz Morgenstern's Good Bye,   Till Tomorrow (1960, 88 mins.), or See You Tomorrow, is another       romance with a twist. Zbigniew Cybulski plays a young thespian who falls for   the daughter (Teresa Tuszynska) of a French diplomat. When she rebuffs
50 YEARS POLISH FILM SCHOOL 2
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After World War II, Poland's socialist government centralized filmmaking in      the Lodz Film School. By 1956, the first wave of Polish School filmmakers set    out to make films that would put Poland on the world's screen. Five such         examples are included here. Andrzej Munk's Eroica (1957, 83 mins.) is a  fine example of the Polish myth of romantic heroism. The Warsaw Uprising is    looked at through the eyes of a drunken black marketeer; in the second         "movement," Polish prisoners in a German camp fanatically believe in the         heroism of their comrade, which, in fact, is a farce. Also from Munk, Bad   Luck (1960, 105 mins.) follows the odyssey of a man through Poland from     1930 to 1950. We watch him from his childhood to his first love, from his      unwilling involvement in Fascist politics to his arrest and imprisonment in a    POW camp. A peer of Wajda and Kawalerowicz, Kazimierz Kutz left Lodz and made  his directorial debut with Cross of Valor (1959, 84 mins.), based on     three Jozef Hen stories about the end of the war. Kutz followed this with      Nobody's Calling (1960, 86 mins.), another adaptation of Jozef Hen's       writings about the hardships postwar Poland faced. We end with Night        Train (Baltic Express, 1959, 102 mins.), a classic award-winning film from Jerzy Kawalerowicz. This is a powerful psychological thriller in which a  young woman, suffering an inner crisis, buys a ticket from a stranger for
AGENT #1
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The adventures of real-life Polish spy and war hero Jerzy Szajnowicz-Iwanow      are brought to the big screen in this gripping action drama from renowned        screenwriter Aleksander Scibor-Rylski (Man of Iron) and director           Zbigniew Kuzminski (On the Banks of the Niemen). One of the few films to chronicle the history of Polish soldiers fighting in WWII, Agent #1      follows the trail of Szajnowicz-Iwanow in German-occupied Greece. In Polish    Zbigniew Kuzminski---Poland---1972---94 mins.
AMBULANCE
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A haunting short film, based on a cruel reality of the Holocaust, when the       vehicle known as a symbol of safety and health was turned into another tool      for the Nazi's campaign of genocide. A group of Jewish school children and       their teacher are herded into an ambulance which becomes their death chamber.  The film's absence of dialogue and narration adds to its disturbing power.     Janusz Morgenstern---Poland---1962---15 mins.
ANDRZEJ MUNK TRILOGY
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Of the three major directors to arise from the Polish School in the postwar period, Andrzej Munk's film output was less, but no less substantial, than that of Wajda and Kawalerowicz. Before his untimely death in a car accident in 1961, Munk completed only three feature films, all of which are collected here. The first, Man on the Tracks (1956, 90 mins.), is a screen adaptation of a short story by J.S. Stawinski. Using a disjointed structure with conflicting versions of the same story (a la Citizen Kane and Rashomon), Munk spins a tale about an engine driver found slumped across train tracks in the middle of the night. Just as the different characters examine the mystery, this classic of anti-Stalinism uses the story to examine  problems in 1950s Poland. Next came Eroica (1957, 83 mins.), which Pauline Kael described as "a true black comedy and one of the few modern movies that has something relevant to say about the modern world." In it, the Warsaw Uprising is looked at through the eyes of a drunken black marketeer; in the second "movement," Polish prisoners in a German camp fanatically espouse the heroism of their comrade, which, in fact, is a farce. Munk's final finished film, Bad Luck (1960, 105 mins.), tracks the odyssey of a man   through two decades of Polish history. From 1930 to 1950, we watch his childhood, his first love, his unwilling involvement in Fascist politics,
ANGEL IN KRAKOW, AN
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"Wiecek makes a pleasant, affecting feature debut" (Variety) with this     popular Polish comedy about Giordano, and angel who can't quite live up to his   wings. A rock 'n' roller with a taste for extravagance, he'd rather commune      with his good buddy Elvis Presley in purgatory than perform his heavenly       duties. This does not sit well with the Almighty and Friends. Aniol w       Krakowie features veteran actor Krzysztof Globisz in the title role and     noted stage actress Ewa Kaim as his costar. Followed by Angel in Love.     In Polish with English subtitles.                                              Artur Wiecek---Poland---2002---87 mins.
ANGEL IN LOVE
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In this sequel to the popular comedy An Angel in Krakow, Giordano the      Angel is bound by his earthly responsibilities and cannot return to heaven.      When he reluctantly severs all ties with heaven, he suffers a nervous            breakdown. Now Giordano just needs to find that one woman who will bring him   heaven on earth. A warm-hearted comedy by newcomer Artur Wiecek, Angel in   Love stars veteran Polish actor Krzysztof Globisz (The Decalogue,     Pan Tadeusz) as the wayward angel. In Polish with English subtitles.       Artur Wiecek---Poland---2005---97 mins.
ANGER
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In this taut thriller from Polish filmmaker Marcin Ziebinski, a young man named Pawel inherits a secluded old mansion in the country and takes his         girlfriend, Magda, to the house for a romantic getaway. Unfortunately, they soon discover they are not alone. Pawel's angry, volatile brother, Piotr, has escaped from juvenile hall and is hiding out at the property. The reunion between the two brothers turns into a cruel contest of recrimination and       accusation. When Piotr's criminal comrades show up and threaten Pawel and Magda, will Piotr step up to help the brother he hates? In Polish with English Marcin Ziebinski---Poland---1997---80 mins.
ANTHOLOGY POLISH CHILDREN'S A
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This anthology of Polish animation for children features 27 films, spans         almost 60 years, and will please curious kids and art cinema lovers alike.       Includes: The King Krakusa (Zenon Wasilewskim 1947), Circus          (Wlodzimierz Haupe, 1954), Mouse and the Kitten (Wladyslaw Nehrebecki,   1958), Bulandra and the Devil (Jerzy Zitzman/Lechoslaw Marszalek, 1959), Pyza (Lucjan Dembinski, 1959), Small Western (Witold Giersz,       1960), Adventure with Stripes (Alina Maliszewska, 1960), Za Bor  em, Za Lasem (Wladyslaw Nehrebecki, 1961), Penknife (Leszek Lorek, 1961),    Crossbow (Wladyslaw Nehrebecki, 1963), Dinosaurs (Witold Giersz,   1963), Kwartecik (Edward Sturlis, 1965), A Pipsqueak (Lucjan       Dembinski, 1965), Surprise (Teresa Badzian, 1965), Reksi  o Polyglot (Lechoslaw Marszalek, 1967), Black or White (Waclaw Wajser, 1967),       Dog in the Box (Zofia Oldak, 1968), Kundelek (Lidia Hornick,       1969), Micah Mol (Ryszard Antoniszczak, 1975), Blizzard (Piotr     Szpakowicz, 1976), Dragon Barnabas (Tadeusz Wilkosz,   1977),              Nielotek (Lucja Mroz-Raynoch, 1984), The Largest Quarrels          (Zbigniew Kotecki, 1999), Tailor Niteczka (Andrzej Gosieniecki, 2005),   The Button (Teresa Badzian, 1964), Last Nil (Alina Maliszewska,    1965), The Fairy Tale (Ryszard Kuziemski, 1968
APPLE TREE OF PARADISE
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The sequel to The Girls of Nowolipki is set in Warsaw after the First      World War, when Poland regained her independence. Again, the film follows the    lives of the young heroines.                                                     Barbara Sass---Poland---1986---112 mins.
AQUARIUM, THE
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This psychological spy thriller is a study of the methods used to shape the      personality of an individual working in the service of a totalitarian empire.    Based on the true story of a Soviet GRU spy, Victor Suvorov, who wanders the     capitals of Western Europe uncovering state secrets and classified             information. His GRU unit--whose headquarters was dubbed "the Aquarium"--was   more covert than even the KGB. When he betrays his friend and protector, he    awaits a numbing injection and evacuation to Moscow. Based on Suvorov's novel    Inside the Aquarium, the film features stellar performances by Janusz    Gajos (The Decalogue) and Witold Pyrkosz. In Polish with English         Antoni Krauze---Poland---1996---140 mins.
ATTRACTIVE MALE SEEKING WOMAN
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Romance goes awry in Atrakcyjny Pozna Pania, an outrageous tale about      confirmed bachelor Stasio Tuchala, who may be a little long in the tooth but     still eager to find love. His friends persuade him to run an ad in the           newspaper's personals column so that he can find his centerfold dream girl,    but only a few senior-aged ladies rise to the occasion. Theatre director and   playwright Marek Rebacz (Wieruszka; Egzekutor) makes his feature-film    debut with this delightful comedy starring veteran Polish actors Roman           Klosowski (Eroica; Cellulose) and Andrzej Grabowski (Strike). In   Marek Rebacz---Poland---2004---96 mins.
AUSTERIA
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Early in World War I, a group of Orthodox Jews flee from the Cossack army in Polish Galicia. A secluded country inn becomes their temporary refuge, where emotional attachments, brief love affairs, and even a renewed faith in humankind inspire these desperate individuals. From the director of Mother Joan of the Angels. In Polish with English subtitles.

Jerzy Kawalerowicz---Poland---1988---110 mins.
BAD LUCK
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The odyssey of a man through Poland from 1930 to 1950, in a changing world that seems to have no place for him. We watch him from his childhood to his first love, from his unwilling involvement in Fascist politics to his arrest and imprisonment in a POW camp. In Polish with English subtitles.  Andrzej Munk---Poland---1960---105 mins.
BARIERA

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As one of two important figures of the second generation of Polish Film School graduates (the other being Polanski), Jerzy Skolimowski helped push Polish cinema towards New Wave vitality and the international spotlight. Bariera (Barrier) solidified his status as one of Poland's leading filmmakers of the sixties. The loose narrative involves a recently-graduated medical student (Jan Nowicki) who journeys through the surreal streets of Warsaw. Nods to Godard abound in this poetic statement about generational conflict. In Polish with English subtitles.

Jerzy Skolimowski---Poland---1966---76 mins.
BEADS OF ONE ROSARY
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Director Kazimierz Kutz, one-time assistant to Andrzej Wajda and member of the   Polish School, directed this endearing dramatic comedy set in his homeland of    Silesia. Cantankerous hero Habryka (Augustyn Halotta) is an old miner who won    many medals over the years for his hard work. Now retired, he lives proudly    with his adorable wife in their family cottage. When Communist officials begin pushing elderly citizens into newly built concrete apartments, Habryka refuses despite cajoling from his family and threats from authorities. "The actors are   exceptionally good, especially Augustyn Halotta, who plays Habryka, and Marta  Straszna, who plays his irritable but adoring wife" (Vincent Canby, New     York Times). Also known as Paciorki Jednego Rozanca. In Polish with   Kazimierz Kutz---Poland---1980---116 mins.
BELLISSIMA
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A Polish melodrama loosely based on the Visconti classic, Bellissima is a sensitive tale of the special bond between mothers and daughters.
BETWEEN THE CUP AND THE LIP
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In director Zbigniew Kuzminski's romantic interpretation of Marii Rodziewiczowny's historical novel, the young, charismatic Count Wentzel          Croy-Dulmen falls in love with a beautiful stranger who turns out to be the cousin of a relative living in Poland. His desire for her necessitates a       full-scale reconsideration of his thoughts and ideas about Poland. With Jacek  Chmlelnik and Katarzyna Gnlewkowska. In Polish with English subtitles.         Zbigniew Kuzminski---Poland---1987---112 mins.
BIG ANIMAL, THE
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Krzysztof Kieslowski (Decalogue) penned the script to this remarkably      sweet-natured parable, shot in shimmering black-and-white. The eponymous "big    animal" is a lumbering dromedary that a Polish bank clerk discovers one          morning outside of his kitchen window. The man (director Jerzy Stuhr) and his  wife both succumb to the creature's charms, but its presence provokes the ire  of their rapacious neighbors. "It is whimsical, bittersweet, wise in a minor   key" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).                                     Jerzy Stuhr---Poland---2000---72 mins.